No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine. 


THE  PIONEER  FUENCH  IN  THE  VALLEY 
OF  THE  OHIO. 

Read  before  the  U.  S.  Catholic  Historical  Society,  New  York, 

by  Rev.  A.  A.  Lambing,  May  24,  1886. 

The  discovery,  exploration  and  first  settlement  of  the 
Western  World  presents  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
varied  pictures  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  pages  of  history. 
The  ambition  of  explorers,  the  daring  of  adventures,  the 
avarice  of  speculators,  the  jealousy  of  powers  and  the  zeal 
of  millionaires  combine  to  form  a  panamora  without  parallel 
in  the  annals  of  the  world.  The  pen  of  romance  could  not 
impart  a  more  striking  and  varied  coloring.  Spain,  Portu- 
gal, England,  Holland,  and  France,  were  there  penetrating 
into  the  deepest  recesses,  mountain,  forest  and  plain,  .seek- 
ing with  insatiable  thirst  whatever  could  excite  cupidity, 
from  the  soul  of  a  savage  to  the  skin  of  a  beaver.  But 
the  methods  of  exploration  and  colonization  were  charac- 
terized by  the  genius  of  the  nation  to  which  individuals 
belonged,  the  influence  of  the  home  government,  the  capa- 
city and  aim  of  the  leaders,  the  chmate  of  the  country, 
and  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the  aboriginal  tribes. 
This  difference  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  different 
methods  of  the  English  and  French,  with  whom  we  have 
exclusively  to  deal  in  this  paper.  The  former,  left  to  them- 
selves with  nothing  btit  a  royal  character,  ample  enough 
in  its  scope,  but  without  any  aid  towards  carrying  out  its 
provisions,  thrived  and  became  a  hardy  race  on  account  of 
the  very  neglect  of  the  home  government;  a  circimistance 
which  that  government  learned  to  its  cost  when  its  neglected 
children  had  acquired  sufficient  wealth  to  be  taxed.  For 
this   reason  it  i.«  Uu't  .the  Eng'ish,  fhc/tij'fh '.  lai*    behind  the 


a  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

French  in  exploration,  and  the  fur  trade,  were  such  in  ad- 
vance of  them  in  all  that  pertained  to  permanent  coloniza- 
tion. Their  progress  into  the  interior  was  slow,  but  where 
they  once  set  their  foot,  they  never  withdrew  it.  The  frowr 
ing  range  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  extending  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  at  the  distance  of  only  one  hundred  and  fifty 
or  two  hundred  miles,  so  hemmed  them  in  that  they  were 
prevented  from  crossing  that  barrier  until  they  had  estab- 
lished themselves  so  permanently  on  the  eastern  side  as  to 
be  able  to  protect  and  defend  the  settlements  that  might 
be  made  beyond  in  the  process  of  time.  Hence  we  find  their 
progress  was  steady  from  the  beginning,  and  if  it  received 
an  occasional  check,  it  was  temporary. 

The  French,  on  the  contrary,  pursued,  as  a  nation,  a 
mistaken  policy  from  the  first.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  some 
among  them,  and  notably  Champlain,  wished  to  follow 
the  proper  course;  but  they  were  not  those  on  whom  the 
destinies  of  the  colony  depended.  The  high  latitude  of  the 
settlement  and  the  consequent  shortness  of  the  summer  sea- 
son were  not  favorable  to  agriculture.  But  in  no  place  in 
the  New  World  could  a  colony  have  succeeded  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. The  people  were  ..  Iventurers,  not  colonists; 
and  the  company  and  the  minister  on  whom  the  success  of 
the  colony  depended  appear  to  have  been  bent  rather  on 
speculation  than  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  bane  of 
the  New  World  was  felt  here  as  it  was  by  the  Spaniards 
of  the  South;  that  of  drawing  from  the  country  the  maxi- 
mum of  wealth  for  individuals  and  revenue  for  the  crown 
with  the  minimum  of  outlay.  The  rivers,  concentrating 
into  the  interior  and  connecting  with  the  Great  Lakes,  and 
these  lying  in  immediate  proximity  to  the  Mississippi,  in 
the  highest  degree  favored  exploration;  and  the  well 
known  success  of  the  French  in  treating  with  the  Indians 
gave  them  an  additional  advantage.  For  this  leason  they 
are  found  even  in  the  days  of  Champlain  penetrating  700 
leagues  intd.jthe  Ahtfe*iC)r, '  J  The  |)etty  .'jealousies  of  rival 
officers  between  .SvSoiri  Ihe^p'owir'twasl'semewhat    divided 


,'.•     ••   ',        "    ••••■ 


No.  10.)  HiMfjrical  Magazine.  3 

by  the  Crown  with  a  view  of  havinjj  them  watch  each 
other,  retarded  the  execution  of  any  important  enterprise, 
while  the  brief  tenure  of  office  in  many  cases  was  a  dis- 
advantage equally  great.  In  short,  the  French  were  better 
explorers  than  the  English,  but  not  so  good  colonizers.  As  a 
further  evidence  of  this,  the  population  of  New  France,  al. 
though  it  embiaced  the  whole  of  North  America  with  the 
exception  of  a  narrow  strip  along  the  Atlantic  seashore,  and 
comprising  more  than  ten  times  as  much  territory  as  the 
Eng'ioli,  was  less  than  ten  thousand,  in  1769,  more  than 
seventy  years  after  permanent  settlement  had  been  begun; 
while  at  the  time  the  French  power  was  finally  overthrown, 
it  was  but  one-fourteenth  part  of  that  of  the  English. 

But  with  a  rival  like  the  English,  urged  on  not  only 
by  the  cupidity  of  the  present,  and  the  religious  prejudice 
that  served  to  give  it  a  keener  edge,  but  also  by  the  tradi- 
tional animosity  of  centuries  of  the  past,  it  was  not  enough 
to  explore  a  country  and  take  nominai  possession.  This  was 
but  a  preliminary  step;  maintaining  possession  -was  the 
touchstone  of  success.  In  no  place  was  this  more  clearly 
seen  than  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  River,  using,  as  I  do, 
the  term  Ohio,  as  equivalent  to  that  of  La  Belle  Riviere, 
the  Beautiful  River,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  was  employed 
in  the  early  days  by  the  Indians,  French  and  English,  for 
the  water  course  extending  from  Western  New  York  to  its 
confluence  with  the   Mississippi. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  the  English  trad- 
ers, regardless  of  the  claims  of  the  French  to  all  the  coun- 
try lying  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  had  penetrated 
as  far  at  least  as  the  centre  of  the  present  State  of  Ohio, 
and  had  opened  up  trade  with  the  tribes  of  that  locality. 
Having  to  carry  their  goods  but  a  few  hundred  miles,  in 
which  the  severity  of  winter  did  not  cause  them  any  seri- 
ous inconvenience  or  expense,  their  advantages  were  so 
manifestly  superior  to  those  of  the  French,  who  had  to  bring 
theirs  all  the  way  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  to  endure  the  hardships  of  a  long  winter  season,  tiiat 


4  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

all  the  tact  of  the  latter  was  not  capable  of  retaining  the 
natives  in  their  allegiance  to  the  representatives  of  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty.  Territorial  claims  amounted  to  as  little 
with  the  Indians  as  they  did  with  the  traders;  for  accord- 
ing to  the  ideas  of  the  savages  the  land  was  all  their  own 
hvmting  ground,  and,  though  favoring  for  the  present  the 
one  from  whom  they  derived  the  greatest  advantages,  it 
was  only  from  interest,  or  in  the  hope  of  one  day  being 
able  to  expel  both  intruders  from  the  country. 

The   claim   of  the  French   to  the   Valley   of  the    Ohio 
by  the  right  of  discovery,  and   that  of    the   English  to  it  as 
comprised   within   their  several  charters,  was  naturally  cal- 
culated   to    engender  strife  here,  and    in   the   end  involve 
the  home    governments    in   deadly  conflict.     The   general 
outline   of  the  history  of  the   war  that   ensued   is  too  well 
known   to     need    repetition     here,   but   the  details   of    the 
French  occupation,   and   later,  of  their  attempt  at  coloniza- 
tion, may   not  be   so  familiar  to   the   student  of    our  his- 
tory.    It  is  important  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  precise 
time   the   French    Pioneers  first  entered   the   valley  of  the 
Beautiful  Hiver.     Few  points  of  our  early  history  have  been 
argued  with  greater  warmth   than    that    for  and   against 
the  discovery  of  this  stream  by  the  Chevalier  Robert  de    La 
Salle,  about  the  year  1670.     The  most  weighty  authorities 
are  arrayed    against    each    other;  and  if    less  enlightened 
minds  differ,  they  need  not  be  taxed  with  either  ignorance 
or  credulity.     But.  though  the  country  owes  much  to  that  in- 
defatigable   explorer,  and  though    the    undertaking   would 
have  been  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  inclinations,  it  is  all 
but  certain  that  the  honor  of  the  discovery  is   not  due  to 
him.     Subsequently  it  was  to  the  interest  of  the  French  to 
claim  the  country  on  the  strength  of  his  supposed   discov- 
ery, because  it  was  well  known  to  precede  any  claim  that 
could  be  advanced    by  the    English;  and  this  they  did,  as 
may  be    learned  from  various   historical  documents.    That 
the  French  discovered   the  stream,  and  descended  it  as  far 
as  Attiqu^,  the  present  Kittanning,  forty-five  miles  above 


No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine.  ^ 

Pittsburg,  as  early  as  1730,  admits  of  no  doubt.  But 
whether  they  descended  it  further  or  not,  it  is  impossible 
to  determine.  Not  long  after  this  time  the  half-breed 
Peter  Chartier,  who  was  married  to  a  Shawanese  squaw, 
went  from  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  River  nearly 
opposite  Harrisburg,  and  settled  on  the  Alleghany  at  the 
mouth  of  Bull  Creek,  about  twenty  miles  above  Pitts- 
burg. Devoted  at  first  to  the  interests  of  the  English, 
suspicion  was  soon  aroused  that  he  had  gone  over  to  the 
French,  and  had  induced  many  of  the  Indians,  over  whom 
he  exercised  great  influence,  to  follow  his  example.  But 
being  untrustworthy  neither  party  coveted  his  friendship, 
and  he  was  accordingly  banished  from  his  village  to  the 
Vermillion  country  further  west,  by  the  authorities  of  New 
France,  in  1745.  He  has  left  his  name  to  two  streams  to  the 
present  day,  one  twenty-two  miles  above  Pittsburg,  the 
other  three  miles  below.  From  certain  expressions  found  in 
Cdloron's  Journal,  also  appears  that  M.  Longueuil  paid  at 
least  a  passing  visit  to  the  Indian  village  of  St.  Yotoe, 
or  Scioto,  about  the  year  1739;  but  we  have  no  record  of 
the   particulars. 

By  far  the  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the 
transactions  of  the  French  up  to  this  time  in  the  Valley 
of  the  Ohio  was  the  expedition  of  C^loron  down  the  Beau- 
tiful River  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1749.  The 
English  settlements  east  of  the  mountains  were  now  in  so 
flourishing  a  condition  as  to  place  them  in  comparative 
security,  and  the  spirit  of  adventure  that  had  hitherto  been 
satisfied  with  trading  with  the  Indians  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  began  at  length  to  contemplate  the  formation  of 
permanent  settlements.  The  proximity  to  the  source  of  sup- 
plies enabled  the  traders  to  furnish  goods  to  the  Indians  on 
terms  more  reasonable  than  those  demanded  by  the  French  ; 
a  circumstance  which  naturally  gained  the  good  will  of  the 
savages.  Steps  were  also  taken  as  as  early  as  1 748  looking  to 
the  formation  of  the  Ohio  land  company  to  take  up  and  set- 
tle lands  on  the  Ohio  River.     The  members  succeeded  in  ob- 


«  United  States  Catholic  No.  ?o.) 

taining  from  the  King  of  England  the  grant  of  five  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  land  on  the  southern  bank  of  that  stream 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Monongahela  and  the  Kanawha 
Rivers,  with  the  further  privilege  of  taking  up  lands  on  the 
north  side.  The  Marquis  de  La  Galissoniere,  then  Govern- 
or-General of  Canada,  felt  it  his  duty  to  consult  for  the  inter- 
ests of  the  French  Crown  by  sending  an  expedition  for  the 
four-fold  purpose  of  exploring  the  coimtry,  much  of  which 
was  still  imknown,  taking  formal  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  the  French  King,  expelling  the  English  traders, 
and  conciliating  or  regaining  the  Indians  to  the  interests  of 
the  French,  many  of  whom  wavered  or  had  gone  over  to 
the  English.  The  task  was  beset  with  difficulties,  but  delay 
would  only  tend  to  increase  them.  Accordingly,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1749,  he  appointed  Pierre- J oseph^C^loron,  Sieur  de 
Blainville,  Knight  of  the  Royal  and  Military  Order  of  St. 
Louis,  Captain  in  the  French  army,  an  officer  who  had  al- 
ready distinguished  himself  for  courage,  prudence  and  energy 
in  the  service  of  Canada,  to  fit  out  and  command  the  expe- 
dition. In  his  Journal  of  the  expedition,  a  copy  of  which  I 
had  made  from  the  original  in  the  archives  of  the  Mar- 
ine at  Paris,  he  writes :  "  I  set  out  from  La  Chine  on  the 
iSth  of  June,  with  a  detachment  composed  of  one  captain, 
eight  subaltern  officers,  six  cadets,  one  chaplain,  twenty 
soldiers,  one  hundred  and  eighty  Canadians,  and  thirty  In- 
dians." 

Although  the  Recollects  were  at  that  time  appointed 
as  a  rule,  to  the  Chaplaincy  of  the  French  forces  and 
expeditions,  a  Jesuit  Father,  Rev.  Louis  Ignatius  Bonne- 
camp,  or  Bonnquant,  was  selected  on  this  occasion,  most 
p^  obably  on  account  of  his  scientific  knowledge,  for  learning 
no  less  than  religious  ministrations,  was  required  in  carrying 
out  the  objects  of  the  expedition.  He  was  then  professor  of 
mathematics  and  hydrography  in  the  Jesuit  College  of 
Quebec,  and  enjoyed,  besides,  the  reputation  of  being  a 
distinguished  astronomer.  The  expedition  pursued  its  route 
by  way  of    the  St.   Laurence,    Lake   Ontario,  the  Niagara 


No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine.  '^ 

River,  Lake  Erie,  a  portage,  Chataqua  Lake,  and  Conewan- 
go  Creek,  and  entered  the  Allegheny  River  at  the  mouth 
of  the  latter  stream,  July  29th,  at  a  point  188  miles  above 
Pittsburg- 

A  novel  feature  of  this  expedition  was  the  burying  of 
leaden  plates  at  various  points,  bearing,  with  the  date,  an 
inscription  to  the  effect  that  the  exocdition  had  taken 
formal  possession  of  the  territory  in  the  name  of  the  King 
of  France.  A  sheet-iron  plate  stamped  with  the  arms  of  the 
King  was  also  in  each  case  attached  to  a  tree  near  by.  The 
first  of  these  plates  was  deposited  with  due  ceremony  at 
the  point    at  which  Celoron    entered    the  Beautiful  River. 

This  manner  of  taking  possession  appears  to  have  been 
peculiar  to  the  French,  and  to  have  been  employed  only  on 
a  few  occasions.  What  advantages  it  possessed  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  imagine,  and  the  mere  so  as  some  of  the  plates 
have  not  yet  been   found. 

The  work  of  exploring  the  country  and  reconciling  the 
Indians  now  began.  Everywhere  the  Indians  were  found 
to  have  been  won  over  to  the  English  by  the  superior  ad- 
vantages they  offered  in  trading;  and,  although  Celeron 
expelled  the  traders  he  met,  and  extorted  a  promise  from 
them  not  to  return,  he  knew  full  well  they  would  not  keep 
it.  The  protestations  of  attachment  which  the  Indians 
made  to  the  French  and  to  their  Father  Onontio,  as  they 
called  the  Governor-General,  he  knew  were  not  to  be  relied 
on.  Indeed,  it  was  only  fear  that  prevented  them  from 
breaking  out  into  open  hostility,  evidence  of  which  appeared 
on  more  than  one  occasion. 

Had  it  not  been  for  these  unpleasant  features  of  the 
expedition,  we  may  imagine  with  what  enthusiastic  admira- 
tion their  keen  perception  must  have  feasted  on  the  native 
charms  of  that  stream  which  extorted  even  from  the  rude, 
unimaginative  savages,  the  name  of  the  Beautiful  River. 
Having  spent  all  my  life  along  its  banks,  and  having  fol- 
lowed its  winding  course  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles, 
I  can  bear  witness  to  its  surpassing  beauty  of  its  scenery, 


ft  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

thoujfh  the  hand  of  man  has  robbed  it  of  much  of  its 
original  charms.  The  alternation  of  wooded  hill  and  bot- 
tom land,  the  outlets  of  many  tributaries,  the  numerous 
islands  that  dotted  its  bosom,  the  ripples  and  eddies  of  its 
crystal  current  must  then  have  presented  a  panorama  upon 
which  the  eye  could  feast  with  ceaseless  delight. 

Having  descended  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Miami,  a  distance  of  about  660  miles,  the  expedition 
entered  the  latter  stream  and  ascended  it  as  far  as  it  was 
navigable  for  canoes,  made  the  portage  to  the  head  waters 
of  the  Maumee,  which  they  descended  to  Lake  Erie,  and 
returned  to  Montreal,  were  they  arrived  November  loth, 
having  journeyed  about  twelve  hundred  French  leagues. 

Father  Bonnecamp  also  kept  a  journal  of  the  expedi- 
tion, in  which  among  other  things  he  noted  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  the  principal  points  with  con.siderable  ac- 
curacy. These  two  documents  form  a  very  interesting 
chapter  on  the  early  history  of  the  Beautiful  River;  and 
the  chaplain  also  drew,  a  map  which  furnishes  a  remarkably 
correct  delineation  of  the  course  of  this  majestic  stream,  and 
the  location  of  the  numerous  Indian  villages  that  dotted 
its  banks,  supplies  a  valuable  illustration  to  the  journals. 

The  result  of  Celoron's  expedition  wa.s,  that,  besides 
acquirmg  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  this  part  of  their 
possessions,  the  French  kept  a  close  watch  on  the  move- 
ments of  the  English,  and  held  several  councils  with  the 
Indians  on  the  Ohio,  especially  through  the  influence  of  the 
half-breeds,  Joncaire  brothers,  to  maintain  them  in  their 
allegiance  to  the  Governor  oi  New  France. 

The  English,  on  their  part,  had  not  been  idle.  The 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania  continued  to  negotiate  with  the 
Indians,  using  for  that  purpose  the  services  of  Conrad 
Weiser  and  George  Croghan,  interpreters  who.se  influence 
with  the  various  tribes  was  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
English  colonists  of  the  day.  The  former  met  the  vari- 
ous tribes  in  council  at  their  principal  village  of  Logs- 
towii,  on  the  Ohio,   about  eighteen  miles  below  Pittsburgh, 


No.  10.)  HiMoricdl  Magazine.  ^ 

in  Auji^ust  and  September,  1748.  He  kept  a  journal  of 
his  travels  and  negotiations  with  the  Indians.  Like  the 
English  traders,  he  came  west  by  way  of  the  Juniata, 
and  crossing  the  mountains  followed  the  Kiskiminetas  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Allegheny.  Croghan  in  company  with 
Andrew  Montour  was  sent  on  a  similar  mission  to  the  same 
Indians  in  May,  1751,  and  his  journal  of  the  proceedings  is 
also  preserved.  The  Ohio  Land  Company,  too,  was  on  the 
ground.  In  1750,  they  sent  Christopher  Gist  to  the  Valley 
of  the  Ohio,  wish  instructions  to  explore  the  lands  on  the 
southern  bank  of  the  river,  and  report  on  their  quality  and 
fitness  for  settlement.  It  is  remarkable  that,  having 
reached  the  Allegheny  by  way  of  the  Kiskiminetas,  he 
went  down  the  west  bank,  and,  passing  behind  the  hill 
which  lies  in  the  present  Allegheny  city  directly  oppos- 
ite the  Monongahela  River,  remained  in  ignorance  of  the 
existence  of  that  stream.  He  was  again  sent  out  on  a  simi- 
lar mission  in  November,  175 1,  and  spent  the  entire  winter 
in  his  explorations.  The  journal  of  this  expedition  is  still  ex- 
tant. 

The  way  was  gradually  being  paved  for  a  conflict 
between  the  French  and  the  English  on  this  side  of  the  water, 
notwithstanding  that  the  home  governments  professed  to  be 
at  peace.  The  initiatory  step  wbs  taken  by  the  French. 
They  were  anxious  to  secure  their  possessions  by  construct- 
ing a  line  of  fortifications  extending  from  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Laurence  to  that  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Beautiful  River 
being  the  stream  which  ran  nearest  to  the  eastern  boim- 
dary  of  their  claim,  the  erection  of  certain  forts  upon  it 
was  necessary  for  the  execution  of  their  plan.  No  point 
was  or  could  have  been  more  important  for  either  nation 
than  the  confluence  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  Riv- 
ers, the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg;  and,  consequently 
it  is  to  this  point  that  our  attention  is  to  be  especially 
drawn. 

In  the  year  1753,  to  use  the  language  of  the  savages 
of   that   day,   the   chain    of  friendship  was  broken  between 


10  Unitad  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

the  two  nations,  and  the  next  year  the  hatchet  was  dug  up. 
In  the  execution  of  their  plan  the  French,  in  the  spring  of 
1753,  built  a  small  fort  at  Presqu'  Isle,  on  the  Southern  shore 
of  Lake  Erie  where  the  city  of  the  same  name  now  stands; 
and,  cutting  a  road  to  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  on  Le 
Boeuf  River,  now  French  Creek,  constructed  a  second  fort 
there  immediately  after.  This  determined  Robert  Dinwid- 
dle, Lieutenant-Governor  of  Virginia,  who  claimed  south- 
western Pennsylvania  as  part  (*f  the  territory  over  which  he 
held  sway,  to  inquire  into  the  movements  of  the  French. 
For  that  purpose  he  sent,  as  the  bearer  of  his  dispatches,  to 
the  commander  of  the  French  at  Fort  Le  Boeiif,  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1753,  a  young  man  but  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
who  was  destined  to  write  his  name  on  the  proudest  page  of 
the  world's  history — George  Washington.  Little  did  the  sturdy 
Scotch  governor  think,  when  he  introduced  this  youth  into 
the  arena  of  public  life,  that  he  would  one  day  overthrow  the 
power  which  he  represented. 

In  the  execution  of  his  mission,  Washington  bore  let- 
ters to  the  commander  of  the  French  forces,  took  careful 
notes  of  all  that  came  under  his  observation,  and  returned 
in  the  early  part  of  January,  1754.  We  are  indebted  to  him 
for  the  first  d-^scription  of  the  spot  upon  which  Pittsburg  now 
stands.  His  report  determined  the  Governor  to  send  a 
detachment  of  men  to  throw  up  a  fortification  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  Rivers. 
They  reached  the  place  in  command  of  Captain  William 
Trent,  on  the  17th  of  February,  and  from  that  dates  the 
permanent  settlement   of   Pittsburg. 

The  French  were  actively  engaged  in  the  meantime  in 
carrying  out  their  original  plans.  During  the  winter 
Joncaire  had  worked  with  his  usual  success  on  the  minds  of 
the  savages,  and  had  induced  them  to  consent  to  the  erec- 
tion of  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Le  Boeuf  River,  where 
Franklin  now  stands.  These  forts  were  not  meant  so  much 
for  defence,  as  for  securing  the  portage  from  Lake  Erie 
to  the  Allegheny   River;  the    centre    of    active  operations 


No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine.  n 

must  be  furtier  down  that  stream.  With  the  completion  of 
the  ^last  fort  early  in  the  spring  of  1754,  Contrecceur,  who  was 
then  in  command  of  the  French  forces  descended  the 
river  with  an  army  of  French,  Canadians  and  Indians  to 
the  number  of  about  a  thousand;  and  on  April  16,  sur- 
prised Ensign  Ward  who  commanded  in  the  temporary 
absence  of  Trent.  Landing  above  the  unfinished  works  of 
the  English,  he  summoned  them  to  an  immediate  surrender. 
Having  but  forty  men,  there  was  no  alternative;  and  the 
French  took  possession,  the  English  retiring  up  the  Mon- 
ongahela.  Insignificant  as  this  action  may  appear  in  itself, 
in  the  light  of  subsequent  events  it  was  fraught  with 
the  most  momentous  consequence  for  both  nations.  It 
enkindled  the  flames  of  war  between  the  two  powers  in 
three  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  despoiled  the  former  after 
a  seven  yearss'  struggle,  of  all  their  possessions;  it  served 
to  discipline  the  colonial  troops  for  the  approaching  con- 
test which  resulted  in  the  achievement  of  American  Inde- 
pendence; and  it  schooled  for  them  a  commander  who 
shall  ever  stand  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  world's  heroes. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  claims  of  their  nation,  the 
French  built  Fort  Duquesne  on  the  point  of  land  at  the 
coufluence  of  the  two  rivers,  and  it  immediately  became, 
though  not  wisely,  the  principal  point  of  attack  of  the  Eng- 
lish. 

I  say  not  wisely;  for  had  they  directed  their  efforts  to 
the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara,  they  could  have  reduced  Fort 
Duquesne  without  striking  a  blow.  Yet,  as  it  was,  Fort 
Duquesne  may  be  said  to  have  been  for  a  time  the  cen- 
tral point  in  the  world's  history.  For  four  and  a  half  years 
the  French  held  their  little  fort  despite  the  best  efforts  of  the 
English  to  dislodge  them.  The  ill-fated  expedition  of  Gen- 
eral Braddock,  which  resulted  in  his  defeat  and  death  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Monongahela,  July  9th,  1755,  is  too  well 
known  to  need  more  than  a  passing  mention.  But,  notwith- 
standing this  success,  fortune  frowned  on  the  cause  of  the 
French,  and  they  were  destined  to  reap  the  bitter  fruits  of 


12  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

their  mistaken  system  of  colonization.  Little  is  known  of  their 
operations  from  the  defeat  of  Braddock  until  shortly  before 
their  final  withdrawal  from  the  valley  of  the  Beautiful 
River,  except  that  they  made  occasional  incursions  into 
the  English  settlements,  engaged  in  a  few  skirmishes  and 
maintained  the  Indians  in  their  allegiance.  But  the  dis- 
tance of  the  fort  from  the  base  of  supplies,  the  difficulty, 
delay  and  danger  of  transportation,  the  time  necessary  for 
sending  messages  to  the  seat  of  government,  the  long  march 
that  reinforcements  would  be  required  to  make  to  relieve 
the  fort  and  the  continual  encroachment  of  the  English 
settlements  rendered  their  position  at  all  times  precarious. 
The  Indians,  too,  were  not  to  be  relied  on  the  moment  the 
fortunes  of  the  French  began  to  waver.  Rude  though  they 
were,  they  were  yet  able  to  understand  the  situation,  and 
Christian  Frederick  Post  and  other  agents  of  the  English 
were  secretly  at  work  striving  to  alienate  them  from  the 
French.  Petty  jealousies,  by  destroying  harmony,  also 
weakened  the  front  the  French  presented  to  the  enemy; 
and  the  successes  of  the  English  in  the  northeast  presaged 
their  final  overthrow.  The  trifling  successes  they  gained  at 
Ligonier  and  near  the  fort  in  the  early  utumn  of  1758,  were 
but  the  last  flickering  of  the  taper  before  it  expires.  The 
fact  that  a  large  army  was  advancing  under  General  Forbes, 
against  which  they  could  offer  no  effectual  resistance,  cooled 
the  ardor  of  the  savages;  and  the  tardiness  with  which  the 
English  General  advanced,  by  keeping  the  Indians  in  sus- 
pense, caused  them  to  grow  impatient  and  desert.  Nor 
had  the  French  presents  wherewith  to  retain  them.  The 
inability  of  the  French  to  receive  reinforcements  in  time,  or 
to  hold  the  fort  without  them,  became  daily  more  apparent* 
and  on  the  24th  of  November,  1758,  when  the  English 
forces  were  within  ten  miles  of  it,  they  blew  it  up  and  re- 
tired, some  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Wabash  country,  others 
up  the  Beaver  Valley  and  the  rest  with  their  commander, 
up  the  Allegheny  to  Fort  Machault  at  the  mouth  of  Le 
Buiuf  River.     The  star  of  the  French  in  the  Valley  of  the 


No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine.  13 

Beautiful  River  had  set  never  to  rise. 

Fort  Machault  was  streng'thened  during  the  winter, 
and  means  of  transportation  provided,  with  a  view  of  de- 
scending the  river  with  the  opening  of  spring  and  retaking 
Fort  Duquesne  before  the  English,  all  of  whom  but  two 
hundred,  had  retired  to  the  east  of  the  mountains,  could 
reinforce  it.  But  the  menacing  attitude  of  the  English  in 
the  northwest  made  it  advisable  to  await  the  result  of  their 
operations.  In  the  meantime  every  means  was  employed 
to  retain  the  Indians,  upon  whom  so  much  depended,  but 
they  had  lost  confidence  in  the  French,  and  cared  little  to 
follow  them  to  almost  certain  defeat.  With  the  siege  of 
Fort  Niagara,  the  forts  in  northwestern  Pennsylvania,  were 
abandoned,  and  with  the  fall  of  that  stronghold,  August  5th, 
1759,  all  hope  was  gone.  Communication  between  the  east 
and  west  was  cut  off,  and  the  final  overthrow  of  the  French 
power  in  the  New  World  was  at  hand.  The  fall  of  Que- 
bec, a  few  weeks  later  sealed  its  fate.  "  The  funeral  of 
Montcalm  was  the  funeral  of  New   France." 

The  French,  true  as  yet  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers, 
were  always  accompanied  in  their  expeditions  and  campaigns 
by  a  chaplain,  those  faitliful  missionaries  and  adventurous 
explorers,  whose  early  letters  to  their  superiors  in  the 
mother  country  must  ever  be  the  most  valuable  documents 
relating  to  our  early  history.  The  register  of  their  labors 
in  the  field  now  under  consideration  is  still  extant,  rescued 
from  the  dust  and  mould  of  archives  and  published  to  the 
world,  thanks  to  the  indefatigable  labors  of  one  whose  name 
is  too  well  known  to  need  mentit)n  here. 

During  the  ^occupcition  of  Fort  Duquesne  the  French 
passed  up  and  down  the  Ohio,  but  more  especially  in  win- 
ter when  the  severe  climate  of  the  north  rendered  it  difficult 
to  carry  provisions  and  munitions  of  war  from  the  posts  on 
the  St.  Laurence.  But,  though  they  had  trading  posts  on 
the  river,  and  were  scattered  here  and  there  among  the 
Indian  villages,  there  is  no  record  of  their  having  formed 
any  permanent  scvtlcments.      That  was  not  their  object  even 


14  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

at  the  fort  Itself.  Possession  and  occupation  were  all  they 
aimed  at  for  the  present.  It  was  not  until  more  than  thirty 
years  later  when  the  country  had  for  the  second  time  changed 
masters  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  plant  a  French  colony  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The  history  of  this  colony,  be- 
sides being  painfully  interesting,  so  far  as  its  origin  is  con- 
cerned, is  involved  in  considerable  mystery.  This  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  un.' \.vel,  with  the  aid  of  the  best  authorities  at 
command.  The  first  reference  to  an  attempt  to  settle  a 
French  colony  is  found  in  a  letter  written  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son to  James  Monroe,  dated,  Paris,  November  nth,  1784, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  he  says  :  "  There  is  here  some 
person,  a  Frenchman  from  Philadelphia,  who  has  drawn  up 
a  visionary  scheme  of  a  settlement  of  French  emigrants 
five  hundred  in  number,  on  the  Ohio.  He  supposes  Con! 
gress,  flattered  by  the  prospect  of  such  an  addition  to  our 
numbers,  will  give  them  four  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
land,  and  permit  them  to  continue  French  subjects.  My 
opinion  has  been  asked,  -and  I  have  given  it :  that  congress 
will  make  bargains  with  nobody;  that  they  will  lay  down 
general  rules  to  which  all  applicants  must  conform  them- 
selves by  applying  to  the  proper  officers  and  not  perplexing 
Congress  with  their  visions  .  .  .  and  that,  therefore,  I 
did  not  think  they  would  encourage  a  settlement  of  so  large 
a  body  of  strangers  whose  language,  manners,  and  prin- 
ciples were  so  heterogenous  to  ours."  Nothing  more  is 
heard  of  this  scheme;  but  in  May  or  June,  1788,  Joel  Bar- 
low was  sent  to  Paris  to  dispose  of  lands  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Ohio  near  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto.  Whether  he  was 
commissioned  by  the  Ohio,  or  by  the  Scioto  land  company, 
was  long  a  matter  of  dispute;  the  supposed  relation  between 
these  two  companies  was  also  debated  with  no  little  warmth. 
It  may  be  well  for  us  then  to  inquire  into  the  relation,  if 
any,  that  existed  between  them,  and  learn  further  by  whose 
authority  so  glaring  an  imposition  was  practised  on  so  many 
innocent  and  unsuspecting  people.  Says  a  writer  on  the 
subject :  "  The  Scioto  Land  Company  has  been  the  subject 


No.  10.)  Historical  Magazine.  15 

of  considerable  mystery,  and  the  cause  of  much  misrepre- 
sentation. I  am  not  fully  informed  concerning  its  origin. 
It  was  probably  started  during  the  negotiation  of  Dr.  Cutler 
with  the  old  Congress,  in  1787,  for  the  Ohio  Company  pur- 
chase. Dr.  Cutler  arrived  in  New  York  July  5th,  and  carried 
on  his  negotiations'fora  week ;  he  was  then  absent  another  week 
on  a  visit  to  Philadelphia,  where  theconvention  thatformed  the 
federal  constitution  was  sitting.  On  his  return  to  New  York, 
the  project  for  the  Scioto  Company  was  broached  to  him 
by  Col.  William  E)uer,  as  appears  from  the  following  extract 
from  the  Doctor's  journal.  "  Colonel  Duer  came  to  me  v/ith 
proposals  from  a  number  of  the  principal  characters  in  the 
city,  to  extend  our  contract,  and  take  in  another  company.  The 
arrangements  of  Dr.  Cutler  with  the  government  made  room 
for  another  company.  But  this  other  association  was  entirely 
distinct  from  the  Ohio  Company.  Yet  it  has  been  represented 
that  the  Ohio  Company  was  concerned  in  the  alleged  wrongs 
toward  the  French  emigrants  in  1790,  who  were  induced  to 
come  over  in  expectation  of  lAie  beneficial  acquisition  of 
land  in  this  quarter,  by  the  agency  of  Joel  Barlow.  But 
this  imputation  is  entirely  groundless.  What  were  the  actual 
relations  and  doings  of  the  Scioto  Company  previous  to  or 
connected  with  that  agency,  I  have  never  learned. 

"  The  arrangements  and  objects  of  the  Ohio  Compaey 
are  believed  to  have  been  very  different.  The  aim  of  the 
Ohio  Company  was  actual  settlement  by  shareholders.  .  . 
The  object  of  the  Scioto  Company  seems  to  have  been,  sole- 
ly and  simply  land  accumulation;  to  purchase  of  Congress — 
nominally  at  two-thirds  of  a  dollar  per  acre — paying  mostly 
in  continental  paper  money,  at  that  time  passing  at  an  enor- 
mous discount — so  that,  in  fact,  the  actual  cost  per  acre 
might  not  be  more  than  eight  or  ten  cents;  then  to  sell  at 
prices  which  yield  them  enormous  profits." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  members  of  the  Scioto  Com- 
pany had  any  sinister  design  beyond  the  securing  of  great 
profit  in  the  purchase   and  sale  of  public  lands.     With  this 


1«5  UnUeil  States  Catholic  No.  10.) 

object  in  view,  they  autliorized  Barlow  to  offer  the  lands  for 
sale  in  France  and  invite  emigration,  but  nothing  is  known 
with  certainty  regarding  the  specific  instruction.';  he  received. 
The  Ohio  Company  had  nothing  to  do  in  the  matter.  In 
1790,  Barlow  began  to  distribute  proposals  in  Paris  for  the 
sale  of  lands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto,  at  five  shillings  per  acre;  the  proposals  prom- 
ising "a  climate  healthy  and  delightful;  scarcely  such  a 
thing  as  frost  in  winter;  a  river  called  by  way  of  eminence 
The  Beautiful,  abounding  in  fish  of  an  enormous  size;  mag- 
nificent forests  of  a  tree  from  which  sugar  flows,  and  a  shrub 
which  yields  candles;  ...  no  taxes  to  pay;  no  military  en- 
rollments; no  quarters  to  find  for  soldiers."'  The  proposals 
were  readily  accepted,  and  many  persons,  and  even  entire 
families  disposed  of  their  property  preparatory  to  setting  out 
for  this  new  land  of  promise.  Supplied  with  title  deeds,  large 
numbers,  variously  estimated  at  from  'We  hundred  to  seven 
thousand,  embarked  at  Bordeaux,  Nantes,  Rochelle  and 
Havre,  two  hundred  and  eighteen  leaving  the  latter  port 
Februaiy  19th,  1791,  and  arriving  at  Alexandria,  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  on  the  3d  of  May. 

After  spendmg  nearly  all  they  had  accumulated  from 
the  sale  of  their  property  in  France,  they  reached  their 
destination  by  different  routes  only  to  find  on  their  arrival 
that  Scioto  Company  owned  no  land,  and  had  scarcely  any 
existence;  and  that  their  title  deeds  were  not  worth  the  paper 
on  which  they  were  written.  How  are  we  to  account  for  this 
outrage  upon  the  confiding  c(  lonists  ?  Where  should  the 
blame  of  fraud  or  mismanagement  be  laid  ?  The  only  way 
of  satisfactorily  accounting  for  it  is  on  the  hypothesis  that 
the  Scioto  Company  expected  to  buy  public  securities  to  pay 
for  their  purchase  of  Congress,  at  the  excessively  low 
rates  of  1787.  But  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  the  successful  establishment  of  the  Federal  Government, 
raised  the  credit  of  those  securities  and  blasted  the  hopes  of 
speculation.  But  as  the  French  were  arriving  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  the  purchase  was  not  yet  effected,  nor  likely 


No.  \o.)  HisUnicol  Magazine,  17 

to  be  effected  soon,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  William  Diier, 
Royal  Flint  and  Andrew  Craj^ie,  who  .styled  themselves 
"  Trustees  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Scioco  lands,"  appliec'  to 
General  Rufus  Putnam  and  Dr.  Mana.sseh  Cutler,  two  of  the 
directors  of  the  Ohio  Company  for  the  purchase  of  certain 
interests  in  that  company  comprising-  196,544  acres.  The 
contract  was  ratified  by  the  Ohio  Company;  and  the  lands  of 
the  French  settlement  of  GallipoHs,  as  the  emigrants  named 
the  town,  were  most  probably  made  in  consequence  of  this 
arrangement  General  Putnam,  as  agent  for  Duer  &  Co., 
provided,  at  some  $2,000  expense,  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  French  emigrants  there,  and  by  the  failure  of  the  firm 
had  to  lose  most  or  all  of  it.  The  Company  not  only  failed 
in  securing  the  large  purchases  of  Congress  contemplated, 
but  did  not  even  succeed  in  obtaining  the  interests  for 
which  they  had  stipulated  in  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany. They  did  not  pay,  and  the  contract  with  Putnam 
and  Cutler  became  a  nullity.  All  that  was  required  by  the 
contract,  was  that  the  Scioto  Corm  my  were  to  pay  as  much 
proportionably,  as  the  Ohio  Cwmp.tuy  were  to  pay  Congress, 
and  relinquish  to  the  Ohio  Company  pre-emption  rights 
which  the  Scioto  Company  was  understood  to  have  in  refer- 
ence to  lands  lying  north  of  the  Ohio  Company's  location. 
All  was  failure  on  the  part  of  the  Scioto  Company.  The 
French  emigrants  were  planted  at  GallipoHs,  and  General 
Putnam  was  left  to  pay  some  1 2,000  expended  on  behalf 
of  the  Scioto  Company."  Such,  according  to  the  best  au- 
thorities, was  the  history  of  the  ill-starred  speculation. 

If  we  turn  from  this  to  the  elements  of  which  the 
French  pioneer  company  was  composed,  a  party  more  unfitted 
than  they  could  hardly  be  imagined,  much  less  be  found. 
It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  history  of  the  New 
World,  with  its  endless  variety  of  romantic  adventure,  fur- 
nishes a  parallel  to  the  Scioto  colony.  Transferred  from  a 
city  life  in  the  French  Capital  to  the  depths  of  a  virgin 
forest,  and  forced  from  dire  necessity  to  make  the  most  of 
things,  their  situation  may  be  better  imagii.ed  than  described. 


18  United  States  Catholic  No.  ic) 

Not  a  few  of  them  were  wood-carvers,  gjklefs  to  his  Majesty, 
coach-makers,  friseurs,  peruke  makers  and  other  artisans  and 
artists  whose  usefulness  in  a  new  settlement  few  words  are 
needed  to  declare.  They  must  clear  the  ground,  build  their 
houses,  and  till  their  rields.  Now,  the  spot  upon  which  they 
were  located  was  covered  in  part  with  those  immense  syca- 
more trees  which  are  so  frequently  met  with  along  the 
rivers  of  the  West,  and  the  removal  of  which  is  no  small  un- 
dertaking even  for  the  American  woodsman.  The  colonists 
were  wholly  at  a  loss  what  to  do  till  a  happy  thought 
struck  them,  when  they  tied  ropes  to  the  branches,  and 
while  one  dozen  pulled  at  them  with  might  and  main, 
another  dozen  went  at  the  trunk  with  axes,  hatchets  and 
every  variety  of  edge  tools,  and  by  dint  of  perseverance  and 
cheerfulness — for  their  cheerfulness  never  forsook  them— at 
length  overcame  the  monsters,  though  not  without  many  hair- 
breadth escapes.  But  here  another  diffiulty  met  them.  What 
was  to  be  done  with  the  trunks  ?  A  happy  thought  again  led 
them  out.  Large  trenches  were  dug  in  the  ground  and  the 
huge  trunks  were  rolled  in  and  covered.  A  situation  more 
painfully  ludicrous  could  hardly  be  imagined. 

Lamentable  as  their  situation  was,  there  were  not  want- 
ing circumstances  to  increase  their  trials.  The  lands  were 
not  their  own,  and  they  had  no  motive  for  improving  them, 
had  they  known  how  ;  the  location  was  not  healthy;  and  to 
these  must  be  added  a  scarcity  of  provisions  amounting  al- 
most to  a  famine,  and  occasional  incursions  of  the  Indians  on 
the  settlement.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  different  tempers 
and  pursuits  of  the  colonists  in  their  native  land,  and  the 
privations  and  sufferings  they  had  to  endure  in  their  ne^ 
homes,  they  lived  very  agreeably  together.  Their  houses 
were  not  built  in  the  usual  straggling  style  of  a  new  set- 
tlement, but  were  placed  in  two  rows  or  blocks  of  log  cabins, 
each  cabin  being  about  sixteen  feet  square;  while  at  the  end 
was  a  large  room,  which  was  used  as  a  council  chamber  and 
ball-room. 

They  employed  American  pioneers   and  hnnters  to  aid 


N(j.  10.)  BistoriGoJ.  Magazine.  15> 

them  in  clearing  tLc  for^  Ls  and  tilling  the  ground,  and 
the  same  hunters  contributed  toward  their  subsistence 
from  the  game  which  abounded  in  the  forests,  and  which  was 
very  grateful  to  the  palate  of  the  ill-supplied  colonists. 

But  it  was  evident  from  the  beginning  that  the  settlement 
must  be  broken  up  in  time,  owing  to  the  people  not  being 
able  to  subsist  on  the  provisions  within  their  reach,  or  to  pur- 
chase lands.  Some  of  them  soon  found  their  way  to  Detroit 
and  Kaskaskia;  a  few  were  able  to  secure  lands  from  the  Ohio 
Company;  but  the  greater  part  were  so  poor  as  to  be  unable 
to  buy  lands  and  so  inexperienced  as  not  to  know  how  to 
till  them  even  if  they  had  them,  or  to  earn  a  subsistence 
in  any  other  way  in  the  backwoods.  A  few  philanthropic 
persons  represented  the  matter  to  Congress,  in  1795,  and 
that  body  granted  them  24,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio 
opposite  the  mouth  of  Little  Sandy  River,  to  which,  in  1798, 
1200  acres  more  were  added.  This  large  tract  came  to  be 
known  as  the  French  Grant.  The  descendants  of  the  origi- 
nal colonists  who  remained  still  occupy  the  spot,  but  are 
being  gradually  absorbed  into  the  general  population. 

If  we  turn  to  the  religious  history  of  the  colony,  for 
it  was  composed  entirely  of  Catholics,  it  will  be  found  to 
possess  an  interest  not  to  have  been  anticipated.  Indeed 
it  was  all  but  the  successful  rival  of  Baltimore  for  the 
honor  of  the  primatial  see  in  the  new  republic.  The 
history  of  the  proposed  see  of  Gallipolis,  so  far  as  it  is 
known,  is  briefly  this :  The  colony  constituted  one  of  the 
largest  Catholic  settlements  in  the  United  States,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  the  French  King,  to  whom  the  people  had  former- 
ly owed  allegiance,  being  great,  it  was  used  in  obtaining 
from  Home  the  nomination  of  a  bishop  for  the  settlement; 
which  was  not  only  providing  the  better  for  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  the  people,  but  also  securing  the  appointment 
of  the  first  prelate  for  the  newly  established  republic,  an 
honor  to  which  the  French  were  by  no  means  indifferent. 
The  question  of  the  nomination  was  taken  up  about  the 
year  1789;  and  the  person  selected,  was.  tjie.  Abbe  Boinan- 


,•..••>■• 

•     .**.  .   . .     • 

'  ••   •••'    1,1. '». 

•  ••'•'    ,        ,  '. .   •  •     * 


20  United  States  Catholic  No.  lo.) 

tier.  Says  Rev.  C.  I.  White  :  "  The  late  Ki.shop  Hnitc,  in  his 
memoranda,  alludes  to  the  faet,  statii  tf  that  the  Abbe  Boi- 
nantier,  of  St  Roch,  Paris,  was  appointed  at  Home  in  17B9, 
Bishop  of  Scioto  ((iailipolis).  'I  knew  Mf.  Boinantier  well,' 
said  Dr.  I^rutc;  '  he  spoke  to  me  of  his  nomination,  and  im- 
dertook  tt;  look  for  his  papers,  but  not  findinjj  them  readily, 
I  only  learned  ex  auiliui  this  remarkable  faet  of  a  see  having' 
been  established  in  Ohio  as  early  as  that  period."  The  failure 
of  the  colony  to  establish  itself  permanently  jJUt  an  end  to 
all  thought  of  an  episcopal  see  not  only  for  the  present  but  for 
ever. 

The  first  visit  of  a  Catholic  Missionary  to  the  place  was 
that  of  Fathers  Badin  and  Barrit-re  during-  their  journey  to 
Kentucky,  in  1793,  of  which  Dr.  Spalding,  says:  "The  two 
priests  remained  for  three  days  at  Oallipolis,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  place  were  French  Catholics,  who  had  been  long 
without  a  pastor.  They  heartily  welcomed  the  Missionaries, 
who,  during  their  stay,  sang  High  Alass  in  the  garrison, 
and  baptized  forty  children.  The  good  French  colonists 
were  delighted;  and  shed  tears  at  their  departure.  They 
were  but  a  remnant  of  a  large  French  colony  of  about  7,000 
who  had  emigrated  to  America  four  or  five  years  previovsly." 

The  place  is  now  unimportant,  both  from  a  civil  and  a 
religious  point  of  view,  being  without  a  resident  priest,  and 
ministered  to  by  the  pastor  of  an  adjoining  congregation;  and 
its  future  prospects  are  by  no  means  flattering. 


•:••• ! 


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